12 September 2017
School Perseverance
Bold strategies are sometimes needed to encourage young people to persevere. Gilbert Grenier[1] used physical and mental training to lead a group of young people to excel and reach the summit of Mont Tremblant.
Grenier explains that this school retention project is aimed at “high school students and adults with low self-esteem, academically unmotivated and at risk of dropping out or social exclusion.”
Various partners contributed to funding and participated in the physical and psychological preparation of the participants. Some served as inspirational mentors.
This Special Education Technician talks about the benefits of the Reach the Summit project. “The students who participated have improved their classroom attendance and invested more in their learning because they have set goals for themselves. It’s made a difference in their lives.”
Training and workshop attendance lasts ten weeks and begins after the first week of classes. Gilbert Grenier says “this is a strategic moment of the year for these young people to develop strategies of commitment and effort before the end-of-year exams. As a team, we are here to encourage them to go all the way and not give up!”.
As the person who coordinated this project for the Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord, he says that “for many, it was the first time they had climbed such a steep slope for nearly 10 kilometres. Aside from the progress made, it was encouraging. I have witnessed concrete results of perseverance which I enjoyed as much as they did. We’ll do it again next year, for sure!”.
Martin Cayouette
Communications Advisor
[1] Gilbert Grenier is a member of the Syndicat du personnel de soutien en éducation de la Rivière-du-Nord (SPSERN-CSQ). He is a Special Education Technician at the Commission scolaire de la Rivière-du-Nord.